Acoustically tunable golf club head

ABSTRACT

A golf club head includes a cantilever face member having a front surface, a fixed end and a free end. A resonating cavity is defined behind the cantilever face member so that, when the front surface of the cantilever face member impacts a golf ball , the cantilever face member oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in the resonating cavity. One or more tines may be disposed in the resonating cavity to alter the acoustic response. The tines may be selected from a plurality of tines having different length dimensions and frequencies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to golf clubs and, in particular, to an acoustically tunable golf club head.

It is well known that golf involves utilization of a golfer's senses of sight, sound and touch. This is particularly true in the case of golf putter design. A well designed golf putter will provide a pleasing audible sound as well as pleasant tactile feedback when a golf ball is properly struck.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,825 to Hamilton discloses a golf putter head incorporating a resonating cavity that provides acoustic indicia of an optimum contact between the putter head and golf ball. The putter comprises a club head body with a recess in the face. A striking plate having a corresponding recess is attached to the club head body to form a fully-enclosed cavity. According to the patent, the cavity will resonate with greater energy when the ball is properly struck than when the ball is mis-hit.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,356 to Nagamoto discloses a golf club head having a metallic acoustic adjustment member installed on the inside surface of the sole of the club. The insert is not in contact with the either the face of the club or the rear portion of the shell. The acoustic adjustment member suppresses the vibration of the sole of the club but not the face, crown or shell which, according to the patent results in a superior ball-striking sound.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,669 to Pearce discloses a golf club head including a plurality of cavities that open to the upper surface of the crown. Inserts are placed within the cavities for aerodynamic, acoustic, and other purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a golf club head including a body having a front face, a heel end, a toe end, a first end wall, a second end wall opposite the first end wall, and a back wall extending between the first and second end walls. The front face includes a cantilever face member having a front surface for impacting a golf ball and a back surface facing the back wall. The cantilever face member has a fixed end and a free end. The fixed end of the cantilever face member is attached to the first end wall, and the free end of the cantilever face member is adjacent but spaced from the second end wall. The front face, the first and second end walls, and the back wall together define a resonating cavity behind the cantilever face member so that, when the front surface of the cantilever face member impacts a golf ball, the cantilever face member oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in the resonating cavity.

In one embodiment of the golf club head, the free end of the cantilever face member includes an end surface facing the second side wall, and the second end wall has an inner surface facing the first side wall. The end surface on the free end of the cantilever face member and the inner surface of the second side wall are spaced apart to define a gap therebetween. In alternative embodiment of the golf club head, the second end wall comprises an end surface facing the cantilever face member, and the end surface of the second end wall is spaced from the back surface of the cantilever face member to define a gap therebetween.

The golf club head may also include first and second tines in the resonating cavity. The first tine is a cantilevered member disposed substantially parallel to the cantilever face member extending from the first end wall toward the second end wall. The second tine is a cantilevered member disposed substantially parallel to the cantilever face member extending from the second end wall toward the first end wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the golf club head shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the golf club head shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a golf club head according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the golf club head shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an optional part used in the golf club heads shown in FIGS. 1 and 4; and

FIG. 7A-7C are side views of different configurations of tines which may be used in the golf club heads of FIGS. 1 and 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a golf club head 10, preferably a golf putter head, comprises a body 12 and a hosel 14 with a boss 16 counterbored for receiving one end of a golf club shaft (not shown). The body 12 has a front face 18, a heel end 20, a toe end 22, a first end wall 32, a second end wall 34 and a back wall 30. The front face 18 includes a cantilever face member 24 having a fixed end 26 that is attached to the first end wall 32 and a free end 28 that is adjacent but spaced from the second end wall 34. The cantilever face member 24 has a front surface 24 a for impacting a golf ball and a back surface 24 b facing the back wall 30. Preferably, body 12 including cantilever face member 24 is cast or machined from a single piece of metallic material such as stainless steel or bronze.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the free end 28 of the cantilever face member 24 has an end surface 28 a that faces the second end wall 34, and the second end wall 34 has an inner surface 34 a that faces the first side wall 32. The end surface 28 a on the free end 28 of the cantilever face member 24 is spaced from the inner surface 34 a of the second end wall 34 to define a gap 29 therebetween.

The front face 18, the first and second end walls 32 and 34, and the back wall 30 together define a resonating cavity 44 behind the cantilever face member 24. First end wall 32 and second end wall 34 each include a plurality of T-slots 38 that are open toward the top 36 of the body 12. One or more thin cantilevered members or tines 40 a-f are pressed into the T-slots 38 so that a root portion 42 of each tine 40 a-f has a close fit with a corresponding T-slot 38.

When a golf ball is struck on the front surface 24 a of the cantilever face member 24, cantilever face member 24 oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in the resonating cavity 44. The cantilever face member 24 thus acts as a primary resonator to cause vibrations within the resonating cavity 44. The resonance within cavity 44 causes sympathetic resonances in the tines 40 a-f. Preferably, the natural frequency of tines 40 a-f is between 20 Hz and 40,000 Hz. The oscillations of tines 40 a-f together with the oscillation of cantilever face member 24 produce an audible sound which will be different depending on the primary natural frequency of each of the tines 40 a-f.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 4, the front face 18 includes a cantilever face member 56 that extends to the toe end 22 of the body 12. The second end wall 34 has an end surface 34 b that faces, but is spaced from, the back surface 56 b of the cantilever face member 56 to define a gap 58 therebetween. The gap 58 will not be visible in a front view of the club head 10. As in the embodiment of FIG. 2, tines 40 a-f are pressed into corresponding T-slots 38 formed in the end walls 32, 34 and may be removed, adjusted and/or replaced with tines of different size and shape to provide the desire acoustic response.

Additionally, a fret member 60 (shown also in FIG. 6) may be inserted so as to contact one or more of the tines 40 a-f. Fret member 60 comprises a flange 62 with one or more web portions 64 sized to create an interference fit between adjacent tines 40 a-f and/or between tines 40 a-f and back wall 30 of body 12. Similar to the operation of a fret on a guitar string, fret member 60 reduces the free length of tines 40 a-f and/or changes their bending mode from primary to secondary or higher frequencies. Use of the fret member 60 in conjunction with tines 40 a-f permits even further variation in resonant frequencies than altering the size and shape of tines 40 a-f alone.

As shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, tines 40 a-f may be in other configurations such as a tapered beam 40 a shown in FIG. 7A, a tuning fork beam 40 b shown in FIG. 7B or a racquet shaped beam 40 c shown in FIG. 7C.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the cavity 44 is closed off at the bottom 37 of the body 12 by a plate or sole 46. In the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, cavity 44 is not fully closed off but, instead, is partially closed off by a plate or sole 50 that includes apertures 52 and 54 which assist in amplification of the resonance in the cavity 44. 

1. A golf club head comprising: a body having a front face, a heel end, a toe end, a first end wall, a second end wall opposite said first end wall, and a back wall extending between said first and second end walls; said front face including a cantilever face member having a front surface for impacting a golf ball and a back surface facing said back wall; said cantilever face member having a fixed end and a free end; said fixed end of said cantilever face member being attached to said first end wall; said free end of said cantilever face member being adjacent but spaced from said second end wall; and said front face, said first and second end walls, and said back wall together defining a resonating cavity behind said cantilever face member so that, when said front surface of said cantilever face member impacts a golf ball, said cantilever face member oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in said resonating cavity.
 2. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein: said free end of said cantilever face member includes an end surface facing said second side wall; said second end wall has an inner surface facing said first side wall; and said end surface on said free end of said cantilever face member and said inner surface of said second side wall are spaced apart to define a gap therebetween.
 3. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein: said second end wall comprises an end surface facing said cantilever face member; and said end surface of said second end wall is spaced from said back surface of said cantilever face member to define a gap therebetween.
 4. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said cantilever face member is substantially parallel to and spaced from said back wall.
 5. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising: at least one tine in said resonating cavity; and said at least one tine being a cantilevered member having a length dimension, said at least one tine disposed substantially parallel to said cantilever face member and extending from said first side wall toward said second side wall
 6. The golf club head of claim 5, wherein said at least one tine is selected from a plurality of tines having different length dimensions.
 7. The golf club head of claim 6, wherein the tines of said plurality of tines have resonant frequencies between 20 Hz and 40,000 Hz.
 8. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising: at least one tine in said resonating cavity; and said at least one tine being a cantilevered member having a length dimension, said at least one tine disposed substantially parallel to said cantilever beam member extending from said second end wall toward said first end wall.
 9. The golf club head of claim 8, wherein said at least one tine is selected from a plurality of tines having different length dimensions.
 10. The golf club head of claim 9, wherein the tines of said plurality of tines have resonant frequencies between 20 Hz and 40,000 Hz.
 11. The golf club head of claim 1, further comprising: first and second tines in said resonating cavity; said first tine being a cantilevered member disposed substantially parallel to said cantilever face member extending from said first end wall toward said second end wall; and said second tine being a cantilevered member disposed substantially parallel to said cantilever face member extending from said second end wall toward said first end wall.
 12. The golf club head of claim 11, wherein said first and second tines are removably mounted in said body.
 13. The golf club head of claim 12, wherein said first and second tines are attached to said first and second end walls by having root portions of said first and second tines mounted in T- slots formed in said first and second end walls.
 14. The golf club head of claim 11, further comprising a fret member disposed between and contacting said first and second tines.
 15. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein said body includes a plate which at least partially closes off said cavity at its bottom.
 16. The golf club head of claim 15, wherein said plate includes apertures opening into said cavity.
 17. A golf club head comprising: a body having a front face, a heel end, a toe end, a first end wall, a second end wall opposite said first end wall, and a back wall extending between said first and second end walls; said front face including a cantilever face member having a front surface for impacting a golf ball and a back surface facing said back wall; said cantilever face member having a fixed end and a free end; said fixed end of said cantilever face member being attached to said first end wall; said free end of said cantilever face member having an end surface spaced from an inner surface of said second end wall to define a gap therebetween; said front face, said first and second end walls, and said back wall together defining a resonating cavity behind said cantilever face member so that, when said front surface of said cantilever face member impacts a golf ball, said cantilever face member oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in said resonating cavity; first and second tines in said resonating cavity; said first tine being a cantilevered member extending from said first end wall toward said second end wall; and said second tine being a cantilevered member extending from said second end wall toward said first end wall.
 18. A golf club head comprising: a body having a front face, a heel end, a toe end, a first end wall, a second end wall opposite said first end wall, and a back wall extending between said first and second end walls; said front face including a cantilever face member having a front surface for impacting a golf ball and a back surface facing said back wall; said cantilever face member having a fixed end and a free end; said fixed end of said cantilever face member being attached to said first end wall; said back surface of said cantilever face member being spaced from an end surface of said second end wall to define a gap therebetween; said front face, said first and second end walls, and said back wall together defining a resonating cavity behind said cantilever face member so that, when said front surface of said cantilever face member impacts a golf ball, said cantilever face member oscillates in a bending mode and generates an acoustic response in said resonating cavity; first and second tines in said resonating cavity; said first tine being a cantilevered member extending from said first end wall toward said second end wall; and said second tine being a cantilevered member extending from said second end wall toward said first end wall. 